From being a talented musician, to helping out where he can, Josh Pyke is debuting his Leg Up project, keen to see new talent emerge while coronavirus halts the music world.
Already on top of a stacked discography, with plans to release a his new album Rome on August 28th, indie rocker Josh Pyke also spends a fair amount of his time giving back, as he cites that he wants to dish out the same love he received when he started in the music industry.
When he first stared out two decades ago, Pyke reveals that he received a $2000 grant from the Oz Council that allowed him to wrap up recording his very early demos, while also crediting his success to a songwriting competition granted him an iMac with the pro-tools he needed.
“Those two things changed my life,” he exclaims. “It meant I was able to demo my songs for free at home. I learned recording skills, and learned how to produce. I recorded most of my first EP on that equipment.”
As he recalls these two tools accelerating his development, and allowing him to “reach a level of professionalism that would have taken much longer without those opportunities,” Josh Pyke announces that it’s his turn to give back by starting his Leg Up project.
“The Arts in this country have been underfunded forever, and I just reckon if there’s a chance to do something in a small way, it would be remiss of me not to, since I was the beneficiary of a leg up when I started out.”
The new project will see Josh Pyke enlist an up-and-coming talent who’s faced challenges during COVID-19 to help him create an animation for his upcoming song ‘I Thought We Were A River’, with those wishing to enter able to submit their ideas from now until July 24th.
Check out Josh Pyke announcing his Leg Up project:
In addition to his new Leg Up project, Josh Pyke is no stranger to giving back, as for the past six years through his JP Partnership.
“I started the JP Partnership 6 years ago because I was, and am, in the privileged position to be earning a living doing exactly what I love to do, and I think in some kinda dumb way I felt like I needed to balance out my karma a bit,” Pyke exclaims.
“I was also inspired by what John Butler and Danielle [Caruana] do with the JB Seed, and felt like the more artists give back to their industry, the better.”
As he details that over the years he’s learned that the “industry was changing at such a cracking pace,” Pyke notes that “most arts grants didn’t really offer a specific mentorship component, and I wanted to address that.”
So, for the past six years Pyke has been helping up-and-coming talents through his JP Partnership, allowing new creatives to get the mentorship they need, and starting them off on the right foot.
“It’s important to me to know that any money that’s being granted will be well spent by the winner and that they have a sounding board in myself, Gregg Donovan and Stephen Wade to bounce their plans off.”
As Pyke states that “the arts in Australia are criminally underfunded,” his opportunity to partner up with Apra/AMCOS to get his JP Partnership grant happening found him so keen to help out.
“APRA have been such vocal supporters of musicians and the arts in general, and their support of the JP Partnership has made the grant a pretty important one on the funding landscape.
“I get such a buzz when I see past JP Partnership winners kicking goals and making great art, and knowing that in a tiny way I’ve helped them.”
Check out Josh Pyke’s ‘Home’:
Following the same vein of helping out, Josh Pyke additionally is heavily involved in the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, which helps Indigenous communities receive “culturally appropriate books,” while “running programs to inspire the communities to tell and publish their own stories.”
With his participation, Pyke shares that he became involved with the Indigenous Literacy Foundation over ten years ago, and now is a lifetime ambassador.
“I was, and still am horrified at how unjustly Indigenous people in Australia have been treated since white people came here,” he states, “and how that’s led to a huge imbalance between our First Nations people and the rest of Australia.
“It’s a complicated situation, but the ILF makes an effort to help bridge the gap in a simple and quantifiable way without any affiliation with government and with the full support of community elders.”
Additionally, he notes that the foundation’s passion to deliver books and raise literacy levels comes without any “other agenda.”
Being an author himself, he notes that he’s “passionate about bridging the gap and I know how to play gigs or do promotion to raise awareness and funds for the ILF, so that’s what I do. I’ve been out to communities on the Tiwi Islands and seen the impact they’re making.”
Check out Josh Pyke performing to raise funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation:
Obviously, besides his massive moves in the community service sector, Josh Pyke is known for being an incredible musician with a stacked discography spanning five studio albums, four EPs, and a massive amount of singles.
His most recent release is a track titled ‘Don’t Let It Wait’ from his impending album Rome, which is slated for release on August 28th of this year.
“’Don’t Let It Wait’ is a song that now feels entirely prescient. I hope the sentiment in the song is one that people feel as we move out of the worst of COVID-19,” Pyke details.
“Releasing music during this time has been a huge challenge, but this is what I love and how I engage with the world, and the idea of holding back on that goes against what this particular song is about. It feels especially right to release this song at a time like this as it is about grabbing a moment.
“Tell the person you love how you feel, dive into the ocean when you have the chance. We get so caught up in the daily grind we often leave things for later, and by the time we come back around, the moment has passed. This song is a reminder to myself as much as anyone to seize the day.”
With the new song and upcoming album, Pyke additionally will be travelling around Australia in October to play some intimate shows, and to celebrate Rome.
“I was so looking forward to hitting the road before COVID hit and I’m truly chomping at the bit to share these songs with a live audience,” Pyke details.
“I’ll be playing solo and find that expressing these songs in that context really resonates. By the time I’m able to play again, it’ll be a celebration of not only these songs but of performance in general. It’ll be a joyful return to the stage and the world in general.”
Check out Josh Pyke’s ‘Don’t Let It Wait’:
Josh Pyke Fans First Tour 2020
Thursday, October 1st (SOLD OUT)Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane, QLD
Tickets: www.eventbrite.eom.au
Friday, October 2nd (SOLD OUT)
Old Museum, Brisbane, QLDTickets: www.oldmuseum.org
Thursday, October 8th
The Toff, Melbourne, VIC
Tickets: www.eventbrite.com.au
Friday, October 9th
Volta, Ballarat, VIC
Tickets: www.eventbrite.com.au
Saturday, October 10th (SOLD OUT)The Toff, Melbourne, VICTickets: www.eventbrite.com.au
Sunday, October 11th
The Toff, Melbourne, VIC
Tickets: www.eventbrite.com.au
Thursday, October 15th
Mojos, Fremantle, WA
Tickets: www.oztix.com
Friday, October 16th
Mojos, Fremantle, WA
Tickets: www.oztix.com
Saturday, October 17th
Lion Arts Factory (Front Deck), Adelaide, SA
Tickets: www.moshtix.com
Wednesday, October 28th (SOLD OUT)Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney, NSWTickets: www.moshtix.com
Thursday, October 29th
Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney, NSW
Tickets: www.moshtix.com
Friday, October 30th (SOLD OUT)Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney, NSWTickets: www.moshtix.com
